Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Dutch prosecutors put on trial 250 people who refused to pay a fine for failing to carry identity documents, the first such case since the Netherlands passed the law on identification Jan. 1 after the murder of a critic of Islam.

The individuals on trial, in a regional court in the city of Utrecht, include seven under the age of 18, said Mary Hallebeek, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors. ``There are two judges and two prosecutors working to get through the cases.''

The law obliges everyone to show ID to police on demand, the first time since World War II Dutch citizens have been forced to do so. Some 46,500 people have been fined this year. The state took the measure after last year's murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh, saying monitoring people is one way of stopping terrorism. Civil rights activists say the law won't help.

``We don't believe the ID duty will contribute in a useful way to battle terrorism or that it helps lower crime,'' the Meldpunt Misbruik Identificatieplicht civil rights group said today on its Web site. Members of the group demonstrated outside the Utrecht courthouse where the trial is under way.

The Dutch legislation reflects concerns about identification elsewhere in Europe. U.K. Home Secretary Charles Clarke will ask European Union ministers to approve a plan forcing people within the EU who hold identity cards to give their fingerprints, the Guardian reported on July 13.

Hofstad Group

In the U.S., the government plans to expand a program that allows travelers to clear security faster if they complete iris scans, provide fingerprints and have background checks, the Wall Street Journal said today.

A terrorist attack in the Netherlands is a ``realistic'' prospect, the Dutch National Anti-Terrorism Coordinator said on Sept. 16. The anti-terrorism group, which falls under the ministries of justice and internal affairs, rates the current threat ``substantial,'' the second-highest of four grades.

The Netherlands counts 10 to 20 networks that are potentially capable of terrorism, according to the Dutch interior ministry. One is the so-called Hofstad group, which authorities have linked to the killing of Van Gogh.

Under the ID law, which applies to people over the age of 14, all citizens must carry identification in the form of a passport, driving license or national identification card. Failure to comply results in a fine of 50 euros ($60).

Letters of Demand

Each defendant in the case that started today had received two letters demanding payment of the fine, Hallebeek said. They had the choice of defending themselves or paying for lawyers.

``It is far too early to draw conclusions as to whether the legislation is effective,'' Ivo Hommes, a spokesman for the ministry of justice, said today. ``We are not surprised about the amount of fines and the number of people in court. It is normal when a law is introduced that people are not always aware or willing to comply with it. They have to get used to it.''

Van Gogh, who made a movie that criticised Islam's treatment of women, was killed on Nov. 2 by Dutch-Moroccan national Mohammed Bouyeri, who said at his trial he would do it again and was sentenced July 12 to life imprisonment.

The killing stoked racial and religious tensions in the Netherlands, which counts 900,000 Muslims among its population of 16 million people. At least 10 mosques and Islamic schools were desecrated or damaged in arson attacks in following weeks.

National Security

The cabinet introduced plans to tighten national security, including the identity law, measures to discourage immigration of Muslim clerics, and legislation to strip people with dual citizenship of Dutch passports if they act against the state.

The government said last November it expanded regulations allowing it to close down Web sites with ``radical content'' and ``increase education programs'' for local Muslim clerics.

Minister of Finance Gerrit Zalm committed 130 million euros to programs to combat terrorism this year. Most of the money is going to expanding the intelligence services.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexandra Dawe in Amsterdam at adawe@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 28, 2005 08:44 EDT